“Some things are quite traumatic, and can send you into the world of the unknown. My mother passed away last August, and I was a complete state.

“People need to talk, and they need to be listened to.

“We can all talk about it. We need to get to the point where it’s OK to say you’re not OK.”

Dame Kelly, who retired in 2005, went on to form the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, supporting young athletes and disadvantaged young people from across the UK.

Here, she says, she hears too many tales of young people, particularly girls, struggling every day.

“I have a big concern about young people, and the support they may or not get,” she said.

“Recently, there’s been a huge rise in young people coming out about their issues, about suicidal thoughts, eating disorders.

“They are getting younger and younger.

“The question is, what is being done about it? Schools will have a massive part to play. In with the pressures to reach academic achievement, there is not enough thinking about their emotional wellbeing.

“If you’re talking about stigma, who can they talk to that isn’t going to judge, that isn’t going to make them feel intimidated?”

Research suggests 50 per cent of mental health problems are established by the age of 14, she said, while 25 per cent of 14-year-olds are said to be clinically depressed.

“There’s something seriously wrong here,” she said. “There are so many pressures for young people. Social media, brilliant in many ways, can be dangerous.

“Young people feel under pressure to be somewhere, to achieve, to be popular.

“We know the spectrum can be anything from stress, anxiety, depression, or self harm, right up to clinical depression. We need to look at services in a more holistic approach to support.”

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